Daniel a



(No Model.)

D. A. WOODBURY.

LIFE PRESERVER.

No. 276,121. Patented, Apr. 17,1883,

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DANIEL A. \VOODBURY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

LIFE-PRESERVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,121, dated April 17, 1883, Application filed November 16, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, DANIEL A. WooDBURY, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Life-Preservers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a life-preserver primarily designed for the use of bathers and persons learning to swim; and the invention consists in a novel construction of the device, whereby it is caused to retain its proper position in use, to keep the head of the wearer always abovewater, and to support thebody from under the arms, where the strain will be least felt, and where the straps or bands will interfere least with the free movements of the wearer.

It further consists in a novel construction of the valve, whereby it is peculiarly adapted for use in connection with an inflatable life-preserver.

In theaccompanyingdrawings,Figuresland 2 represent, respectively, back and front views of my improved device in position upon the body of the user; Fig. 3, a vertical central section of the valve; Fig. 4, a cross-section of the barrel or body of the valve.

Lit'e-preserversascommonlyconstructed are open to numerous objections, prominent among which are their liability to become misplaced, in which case they are an injury instead of a benefit, and the fact that in the case of intlatable bodies a single air-chamber is usually provided, the injury or rupture of which destroys entirely the value and usefulness of the whole device. By my construction these difficulties are overcome, and by the use of my improved valve all danger of accidental escape of air by reason of failure to close the valve tightly or because of its stem being slightly moved is obviated.

Referring again to the drawings, A A represent two floats, which I prefer to make in the form of bags, capable of being inflated and hermetically sealed, though in some cases the floats may be rendered buoyant by a filling of cork or other light substance, as in other life-preservers now in use. The floats, of whatever material they may be made, are of crescent form, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to fit snugly upon the shoulders of the wearer,

are connected at the back, and are provided with straps or hands B, attached to the floats or passing through loops to near the ends thereof, and serving to retain the floats in posit-ion upon the shoulders of the wearer, the straps or bands being arranged to pass. under the arms of the wearer and to buckle or fasten together across the chest, as shown in Fig. 2. In this way the ends of the floats A A are held down, the floats are drawn firmly upon the common type of life-preservers, and conse-.

quently the head of the wearer will be naturally held above the water.

hen the device is intended for general use after the manner-of ordinary life-preservers for boats and vessels, the straps or bands B may be advantageously employed without other fastenings of any kind, it being desirable that the device shall be capable of ready and quick application; but when used for the purpose of learning to swim or by bathers, where ample time can always be taken to apply and secure the preservers, I prefer to add to the foregoing a belt or waistband. and straps or hands extending from the ends of the floats to said belt, as shown in the drawings, this arrangement serving to more evenly distribute the weight and strain over the body of the wearer,and to more efl'ectually and certainly retain the floats in position.

In the drawings, O represents the belt; I) c, the straps connecting the rear ends of the floats with said belt, and d 6 similar straps connecting the forward ends of the floats therewith. All of these straps are provided with buckles and may be lengthened or shortened, as required, to adapt the device to different bodies, the buckles ot' the front straps also permitting the proper separation or opening of the parts to permit the device to be put on or taken off. The front straps, d 6, cross each other, and,in order to permit the ready application or removal of the preserver, must be nnbuckled'and disconnected from the belt, which detachment would, in the absence of other provision,permit the ends of the belt to fall down and to hang from the straps b c, where it would be comparatively difficult to reach them. To'preventthis, additional straps,

f, may be carried from the front ends of the floats directly down to the beltO without crossing. The straps or bands may be of leather, canvas, rubber, or other material, and the straps or bands B are preferably covered with or passed through rubber tubing g, to prevent them from cutting or chafing the wearer.

As stated, I prefer to employ inflatable bags or bodies, which may be made of any suitable fabric cut to proper shape and sewed or cemented together and provided with an inner elastic rubber bag, D, which latter will be furnished with a valve, E, by which it may be filled or emptied at will. The outer surface may be covered with fabric like that of which the bathing-suit is made, if desired, and thus made to harmonize in appearance with the rest of the equipment; or, if preferred, simply strong rubber bags may be used without any outer covering.

As commonly constructed, the valves of inflatable life-preservers are objectionable because they are not self-closing, and if not carefully closed, or if accidentally moved in the slightest degree, they permit the air to escape, and thus render the float or floats useless. To avoid this difiiculty, I construct the valve E as shown in Fig. 3, in which it represents a tubular valve body or barrel formed with a wide flange, 'i, which is secured to the bag or float by cementation, the flange being preferably placed on the inside of the bag, and a collar or plate, j, being placed around the barrel or bod y h and made to bear against the outer face of a the bag material, as shown.

k represents a cap secured to the barrel h and provided with a series of holes, I, for the admission and exit of air to and from the barrel.

m represents the valve-stem, and n the valveplug, which is adapted to seat itself against the face of the body or barrel h, which barrel is formed with a central hole to receive the stem 1n, and to closely fit and guide the same, and with channels or passages 0,to permit the air to pass in and out around the stem.

To the lower face of the plug n, I apply a flexible disk, 11, of larger diameter than the plug, which bears against the beveled face of valve-seat q, even after the plug n is moved from its seat sufficiently to permit air to pass in or out by its sides, the disk being made of rubber, leather, or similar material. This flexible disk forms an automatic check-valve, which will be pressed against the valve-seat by the pressure of the air within the float, and will automatically close the opening unless the valve-stem be forced inward and held at a point beyond that to which it is necessary to move it simply to open the valve for the adof holding it against rotation with the nut s,

through which the stem passes, and also as a stop to prevent the nut from passing 011' the stem. The nut is likewise milled on its circumference to facilitate its being turned by the fingers. When thus turned, if forward, it serves to draw the plug a to its seat, or if backward to permit the stem to be moved inward and the plug to be thereby moved away from the seat, the flexible disk, however, remainin g in contact with the seat and preventing the escape of air. When the valve is thus adjusted, the barrel or body is taken into the mouth, and by blowing through the holes 1 and barrel [L the disk p is forced inward away from the valve-seat and theair allowed to enter the bag or float and to fill the same. The nut 8 should then be turned to draw the valveplug to its seat, and the device is then ready for use. In order that the stem or the nut may not be accidentally or too easily turned, a washer of leather, rubber, or like material should beinterposed between the nut and the cap k, as indicated by the letter t.

The barrel or body h of the valve is preferably formed of vulcanized rubber or of guttapercha, and the cap k of spun copper, with its lower edge turned inward and pressed into a groove in the barrel, as indicated.

When the device is employed for use in teaching persons to swim, the floats may be at first fully inflated, and then, as the person becomes more familiar with the art of swimming, the degree of inflation may be gradually lessened, until finally the use of any support will become unnccessaryfor ordinary purposes, though even in the case of expert swimmers the use of such a device will be advantageous, since it does not interfere with the freedom of motion of the wearer and is a safeguard against accidents. The valves are located at the front and in such position that the wearer may readily take them in his mouth when necessary to inflate the bags or floats.

The floats may be made of light sheet metal or other suitable material, but should in all cases be made of substantially crescent form to fit the shoulders of the wearer.

The straps or supports beneath the arms may in some cases be omitted, and the belt and the straps extending therefrom to the floats relied upon to support the wearer; but I prefer to use both. The crossing of the straps b c and d 6 gives great freedom of motion.

In this application the valve is claimed only when combined with a life-preserver; but the right is reserved to specifically claim the valve in a separate application.

Having thus described .my invention, what I claim is -1. The herein-described life-preserver, con-4 sisting of floats A A, straps or bands B, belt 0, and straps or bands I), 0, d, c, andf, all combined and arranged substantially as shown.

2. In combination with an inflatable lifepreserver float, a valve consisting of a body, h, having seat q, valve-stem m, provided with plug 12, and flexible disk p, applied to the stem beneath the plug, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a life-preserver, the combination of a valve-body and a stem carrying a valve-plug and provided with a flexible disk independent of the plug, adapted to be pressed against the valve-seat by the pressure of the air within the float or body of the life-preserver, even when the valve-plug is ofl its seat, substantially as explained.

4. In combination with a life-preserver, the

herein-described valve, consisting of barrel or 20 body h, having seat q, cap k, provided with holes 1, valve-stem m, having head 1, plug 12, and disk 11, and the nut s and washer 2, all combined as shown.

5. The herein-described life-preserver, con- 2 5 

